Sarnia-area environmental health project set to finish this year

Anne Marie Gillis says she’s encouraged those conducting a provincial project examining the impact Sarnia-area industries have on the health of residents appear to be listening to the community.

Gillis, a Sarnia city councilor, was chairperson of a Lambton Community Health Study board that worked for about eight years pushing upper levels of government for a study into links between the operation of local refineries and chemical plants, and the health of those living near them .

Those efforts eventually led to the Sarnia Area Environment Health Project the province formally launched in 2020 to help address concerns in the community about air pollution, “and other environmental stressors from local industries,” according to the project’s website.

It’s holding a public meeting June 8 at the Best Western Guildwood Inn in Point Edward, beginning at 6 pm, to provide an update on the project Ontario’s Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks says is expected to be completed this year.

Information on the project and the upcoming meeting can be found online at www.cleanairsarniaandarea.com.

Gillis said she has been among those in the community who have been following the project, including attending online meetings held in the past.

“I see that they’ve picked up on some of the things that we identified,” she said.

That includes “environmental stressors, particularly how it is related to the individuals who are living around the plants,” Gillis said.

“They are focusing on them, which really pleases me. I wasn’t sure they would.”

The project said the focus of the upcoming meeting will be on the ministry’s “environmental stressors analysis,” of environmental disturbances, such as odour, noise, vibration and night-time light from industry, “which have been identified by some in the community as experiences which are impacting their quality of life.”

The meeting is also expected to provide an update on an analysis of chemicals found in the air.

Ministry spokesperson Gary Wheeler said it will be the project’s first in-person public information meeting. There is also an option to attend virtually.

“The event will feature a series of presentations to share progress on the project and opportunities for attendees to offer feedback,” Wheeler said by email.

“Throughout 2023, the ministry will continue collaborating with partners with the aim of completing the project and subsequently reporting on the findings.”

Gillis said concern about the the impact of noise and vibration created when local industries restart operations, and during flaring, was raised by the former health study board when the province began preparing for its project.

“It is unbelievable,” Gillis said about noise and vibrations created during those processes, particularly for those living close to the plants. “It’s like a 747 coming in, every minute.”

Gillis said she has spoken with representatives of industry who said efforts are being made to mitigate some of that impact.

Flaring is a safety measure used at industrial plants and noise can be created by the mixing of vapours, air and steam during that process, industry says.

The fact the provincial project is also focusing on the impact that has, “is a good thing,” Gillis said.

Progress since the province first said it would take it on the project has “been glacial,” she said. “But, we have had two and half years of pandemic, so we have to consider that with everything we do.”

“The thing is, it’s moving” and is “addressing what people have isolated” as concerns, she added.

“Throughout 2023, the ministry will continue collaborating with partners with the aim of completing the project and subsequently reporting on the findings,” Wheeler said.

Gillis said she will be watching to see what actions the province takes with the information from the health project.

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